Achieving Equity in Residency and Fellowship Applications With a Partial Blindfold: A Call for Measuring the Distance Traveled
Authors: Tara Vijayan, Christopher J. Graber, Christina E. Harris, Daniel Kozman
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2023)

Ideas and OpinionsJuly 2023Achieving Equity in Residency and Fellowship Applications With a Partial Blindfold: A Call for Measuring the Distance TraveledTara Vijayan, MD, MPH, Christopher J. Graber, MD, MPH, Christina E. Harris, MD, and Daniel Kozman, MD, MPHTara Vijayan, MD, MPHDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California (T.V.)Search for more papers by this author, Christopher J. Graber, MD, MPHDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Infectious Diseases Section, Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California (C.J.G.)Search for more papers by this author, Christina E. Harris, MDCedars Sinai Medical Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California (C.E.H.)Search for more papers by this author, and Daniel Kozman, MD, MPHDivision of Internal Medicine-Pediatrics, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California (D.K.).Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M23-0334 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail “Tell me more about yourself.”For many applicants to residency and fellowship, this prompt can be a pivot point during an interview. As the holistic review process outlined by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has emphasized experiences and attributes over metrics, understanding an applicant’s distance traveled, based on their early life experiences, can inform a committee about several important attributes, including resilience and resourcefulness. While the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) includes several details that can highlight these early life experiences (1), the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) includes limited details beyond what applicants may choose to ...References1. 2023 AMCAS Application Workbook. Association of American Medical Colleges. Accessed at https://students-residents.aamc.org/media/11736/download on 21 June 2022. Google Scholar2. What’s New in the 2024 MyERAS Application. Association of American Medical Colleges. Accessed at https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-residencies-eras/what-s-new-2024-myeras-application on 6 May 2023. Google Scholar3. Grbic D, Jones DJ, Case ST. The role of socioeconomic status in medical school admissions: validation of a socioeconomic indicator for use in medical school admissions. Acad Med. 2015;90:953-960. [PMID: 25629949] doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000000653 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Fadem B, Schuchman M, Simring SS. The relationship between parental income and academic performance of medical students. Acad Med. 1995;70:1142-1144. [PMID: 7495461] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Hartman ND, Lefebvre CW, Manthey DE. A narrative review of the evidence supporting factors used by residency program directors to select applicants for interviews. J Grad Med Educ. 2019;11:268-273. [PMID: 31210855] doi:10.4300/JGME-D-18-00979.3 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Barceló NE, Shadravan S, Wells CR, et al. Reimagining merit and representation: promoting equity and reducing bias in GME through holistic review. Acad Psychiatry. 2021;45:34-42. [PMID: 33111187] doi:10.1007/s40596-020-01327-5 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Makhoul AT, Pontell ME, Ganesh Kumar N, et al. Objective measures needed - program directors' perspectives on a pass/fail USMLE Step 1. N Engl J Med. 2020;382:2389-2392. [PMID: 32558467] doi:10.1056/NEJMp2006148 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Faiz J, Essien UR, Washington DL, et al. Racial and ethnic differences in barriers faced by medical college admission test examinees and their association with medical school application and matriculation. JAMA Health Forum. 2023;4:e230498.[ doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.0498] [PMID: 37058292] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Saul S. 9 states have banned affirmative action. Here’s what that looks like. New York Times. 31 October 2022. Accessed at www.nytimes.com/2022/10/31/us/politics/affirmative-action-ban-states.html on 6 May 2023. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Tara Vijayan, MD, MPH; Christopher J. Graber, MD, MPH; Christina E. Harris, MD; Daniel Kozman, MD, MPHAffiliations: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California (T.V.)Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Infectious Diseases Section, Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California (C.J.G.)Cedars Sinai Medical Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California (C.E.H.)Division of Internal Medicine-Pediatrics, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California (D.K.).Disclosures: Authors have reported no disclosures of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M23-0334.Corresponding Author: Tara Vijayan, MD, MPH, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 52-215 CHS, 10833 LeConte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095; e-mail: tvijayan@mednet.ucla.edu.Author Contributions: Conception and design: C.J. Graber, C.E. Harris, D. Kozman, T. Vijayan.Drafting of the article: C.J. Graber, C.E. Harris, D. Kozman, T. Vijayan.Critical revision for important intellectual content: C.J. Graber, C.E. Harris, D. Kozman, T. Vijayan.Final approval of the article: C.J. Graber, C.E. Harris, D. Kozman, T. Vijayan.Collection and assembly of data: T. Vijayan.This article was published at Annals.org on 27 June 2023. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Current IssueJuly 2023Volume 176, Issue 7Page: 985-986KeywordsFellowshipsGraduate medical educationHealth carePhysician biasRacial and ethnic issuesResidencyScientistsSocioeconomic statusStandardized testsStructural racism ePublished: 27 June 2023 Issue Published: July 2023 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2023 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...